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Bella Continues Gay Rights Push
Rep. Bella Abzug
7TH YEAR,
NUMBER I
WASHINGTON - When Congresswoman
Bella Abzug m-N.Y.l introduced the Gay
Civil Rights Bill, H.R. 5452, in the current
session of Congress, she remarked,
"Equal protection of the laws and respect
for the rights of individuals are fun­damental
principles of our Constitution ...
CSlexual orientation should be no barrier
to equal treatment under the law.
Homosexuals are a minority group whose
concerns have too long been ignored. If the
prejudice and discrimination that they
· suffer are to be eliminated it is essential
that Congress enact measures such as the
one I am introducing today."
Her bill, cosponsored . by 23 other
members including Walter Fauntroy (D­D.
C. l. Parren Mitchell <D-Md.l, and
Robert Nix m-Pa.), would amend the
Ciyil Rights Act of 1964 and related acts to
extend to gay individuals the same rights
now guaranteed other minorities in em-ployment;
access to public ac­commodations,
including rental housing;
home buying; education, both as students
and as teachers; and federally assisted
programs of many kinds.
Craig Thigpen of Rep. Abzug's staff told
The Blade that additional cosponsors will
be sought before the bill is reintroduced
early in 1976. and proponents are hoping to
have hearings before the Judiciary
Committee's Ci vii and Constitutional
Rights Subcommittee sometime during
the second session of the 94th Congress.
The subcommittee, "one of the busiest on
the Hill" according to counsel Alan
Parker, is currently considering major
revisions of the criminal justice and
bankruptcy statutes as well as overseeing
the F.B.I. and Constitutional amendments
on abortion and busing. The sub­committee's
priorities are determined by
a combination of interest on the part of
JANUARY, 1976
members inside and outside the com­mittee
and the situation in society as a
whole. Roberta Weiner of the staff on
Congressman Herman Badillo <D-N.Y.l,
the only cosponsor on the svbcommittee,
told a Blade reporter that pressure from
civil rights lobbyists opposed to antibusing
measures is one reason no hearings on any
proposed amendments to the Civil Rights
Act are likely in the near future.
continued on page 14
Lesbian
Fig·hts _to
Keep Son
DALLAS, TEXAS - A domestic relations
court jury has ordered a nine-year-old boy
taken from his mother, an admitted
lesbian. and placed in the custody of his
father. The decision came after five hours
of deliberation.
Mary Jo Risher, 38, testified in the
custody trial that she loves her lesbian
lover "more than anything else in the
world but that does not mean I don't love
..AJ. 1!)_ Richard and Jimmy," her two children. ~_ -•*•;_,,,. A,,,u,,, 1/te. 4#ti 1e'OllUW "'14~ Me ""4-~ ~ Ms. Risher won custody of both children
l~~~="'..;~;.;;.;.~rf!.-.-.~.~' :'i:'. ....~ . ......" :~-:'. ...................." ;~~lmkt~======::~qg§jjp#]i%. . when · she and her husband, Douglas M. etl I n d ,. cted ,. n Risher, were divorced in 1971. Her older
son, Jimmy, 17, eventually went to live
with his father who filed snit to gain K -
. ht M . ro· Cas-e n lg. . u er -. . cfuosrtmo~dry of the younger son. Risher's husband claimed that the boys'
. mother was unfit because of -her
PHILADELPHIA - Two men have been
charged with the December 7, 1975 murder
of Knight Newspaper heir, John S. Knight
III.
At a preliminary hearing, Judge James
R. Cavanaugh ordered Steven Maleno, 25.,
and Salvatore Soli, 37, held without bail. A
third murder suspect, Isias "Felix"
Melendez, 20. was found shot to death
December 12 on a Pine Hill, New Jersey
golf course.
Knight's alleged closet homosexuality
was apparently an important factor in the
murder. Melendez, the dead murder
suspect. has been identified by police as a
homosexual procurer. and according to
Soli and Maleno, had provided Knight with
sexual partners on different occasions. A
prosecution witness, Linda Wells, testified
at the preliminary hearing that Melendez
said that Knight would be a ·perfect can­didate
for a robbery because he would not
be able to report · the crime for fear of
revealing his homosexuality. Maleno told
police that Melendez killed Knight in a fit
of jealous rage after the three suspects
had . ransacked Knight's apartment on
fashionable Rittenhouse Square.
The 30-year-old Knight was special
projects editor of the Philadelphia Daily
News and the grandson of John Knight.
founder of the Knight-Ridder publishing
~~re. '
The trial is expected to start shortly.
although defense motions for a change of
venue due to pre-trial publicity could
cause delays.
Slain newspaper: heir John Knight III
homosexuality.
The -lesbian mother told a jury of two
women and ten men that she met her
lover, Ann Foreman, about two and one­half
years ago. Ms. Risher said that they
moved in together about six months later,
"because we felt that we wanted to ·be
together always." In a pretrial move, Ms.
Risher's attorney, Aglaia Mauzy, at­tempted
to prohibit Ms. Risher's
homosexuality from being made an issue
in the case, but the defense motion was
denied by Domestic Relations Court Judge
Owen Chrisman.
Attorney Mauzy told the jury that her
client provided a "good, clean en­vironment"
and that Ms. Risher was a
"warm, loving mother."
Several prospective jurors had been
excused after they admitted that they
-----------------., disapproved of homosexuality on religious
" - " - or moral grounds. Star Spotlights Gay Athletes ~~ionR~~~,~~,;::;.;. ,.;d that t•·
In what may have been the greatest
shock ever delivered to sports-loving
Americans, THE WASHINGTON
STAR tackled the subject of
homosexuality in sports, with banner
headlines. In unprecedented coverage of
the subject, there were four consecutive
days of myth-exploding articles. It began
December 9th as sportswriter .Lynn
Rosellini bylined lead stories in the sports
section delivering fact after fact con­cerning
the existence and implications of
homosexuality in professional sports.
Far from being an expose or an attack
on either gay athletes or sports. the series
was unusally well researched and went to
considerable lengths to set straight the
many misconceptions that have caused
many. if not most, straights to disbelieve
the findings contained in her articles.
Athletes, coaches, psychologists, and
others were interviewed in substantial
numbers. Although no gay person who
preferred to remain anonymous was
named, the honesty and thoroughness of
her research came through unmistakably.
Diehard homophobes have and will con­tinue
to attack the series but it was too
accurate and well-written not to have a
significant impacr'on open-minded and
thoughtful readers. ·
If an Archie Bunker were to step into the
ring with Ms. Rosellini she would soon
have him hanging on the ropes with her
rapid-fire combinations. Sample: "Some
of the biggest names in football including
at least three starting quarterbacks in the
N.FL are homosexual or bisexual." "Many
male athletes who prefer homosexual
relationships maintain fronts as married
men with children." "The percentage of
male homosexuals in sports is probably
close to the same five per cent as in society
at large." "Only about JO per cent of the
entire male homosexual population fits the
stereotype of lirnp·wristed. effeminate
continued on page 11
Attorneys for Mary Jo Risher have
promised to appeal the court decision
which took away her son. Two separate
defense funds have been set up to help
defray the costs of what promises. to be a
lengthy battle . . Donations to one of the
funds will be tax deductible and will be
used solely for the expenses of expert
witnesses. Send donations to: Legal
Defense Educational Fund, The National
N.O.W. Mary .Jo Risher Fund, 9 W. 57th
St., New York NY 10019. A second fund to
cover attorneys' fees and general ex­penses
is: The Mary Jo Risher Fund, c o
Dallas County N.O.W .. PO Box 124~1.
Dallas, Texas 75225.
The Blade looks ot the Drag World ... see e. 12.
I

Bella Continues Gay Rights Push
Rep. Bella Abzug
7TH YEAR,
NUMBER I
WASHINGTON - When Congresswoman
Bella Abzug m-N.Y.l introduced the Gay
Civil Rights Bill, H.R. 5452, in the current
session of Congress, she remarked,
"Equal protection of the laws and respect
for the rights of individuals are fun­damental
principles of our Constitution ...
CSlexual orientation should be no barrier
to equal treatment under the law.
Homosexuals are a minority group whose
concerns have too long been ignored. If the
prejudice and discrimination that they
· suffer are to be eliminated it is essential
that Congress enact measures such as the
one I am introducing today."
Her bill, cosponsored . by 23 other
members including Walter Fauntroy (D­D.
C. l. Parren Mitchell